Cheap buds that read the LDAC manual, unlike most of their rivals

Let's address the elephant in the listing first. Amazon has filed these under 'Auriculares circumaurales', which is the over-ear headphone category. The P31i are in-ear buds. Someone in the cataloguing department needs a coffee and a dictionary. Spec sheet says one thing, reality says another, and in this case reality is a pair of proper little in-ear buds, not the cans the category badge implies.

Once you get past that filing error, the actual numbers are more interesting than you'd expect for something now sitting at €32.99. LDAC support means these are chasing Hi-Res certified audio, a feature usually reserved for buds costing double or triple this. Anker's fitted an 11mm balanced armature driver rather than the usual cheap dynamic driver, with a frequency range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz and sensitivity of 120dB. On paper that's a genuinely ambitious spec for this price bracket. Buyers seem to agree, with several reviewers directly comparing them favourably to AirPods Pro, which is either a ringing endorsement or a sign that expectations for AirPods Pro have quietly slipped.

The adaptive ANC claims up to 52dB of noise reduction and adjusts itself to your environment rather than making you fiddle with settings. Multiple verified buyers report the gym, street traffic and even a bedroom fan getting properly muted, plus a transparency mode that lets ambient sound back in when you need it. That's a solid showing, though as always with ANC claims, your mileage depends heavily on how well the tips seal in your ear, something no spec sheet can promise you.

Beyond the audio chops, Anker's thrown in a party trick: real-time AI translation across more than 100 languages, run through the companion app. Reviewers who tried it call it 'a pasada', which is Spanish for genuinely impressed, not just marketing filler. It won't replace a professional interpreter, but for holiday chat or the odd international call, it's a novelty that actually works rather than one that quietly gets buried in a settings menu nobody opens.

Call quality gets six microphones running an AI noise reduction algorithm, aimed at keeping your voice audible over background chaos. Battery life is where this thing genuinely shows off: 12 hours per charge without ANC, 50 hours total with the case, dropping to 8 hours and 40 hours total with ANC switched on. A 10 minute quick charge nets you 3.5 hours of playback, which is handy when you've left them dying on the nightstand again. Water resistance rounds it out for gym and commute use, though there's no specific IP rating listed, so don't go swimming with these.

If you want Hi-Res LDAC audio, genuinely capable adaptive noise cancellation and a battery that shames most flagships, all for €32.99, the Soundcore P31i is a properly smart budget pick, and the 4.6 star average from over 8,000 ratings backs that up. Skip them if you're precious about premium build materials, since it's all plastic here, or if you specifically need over-ear comfort, because despite what Amazon's category page insists, these are in-ear buds through and through. For everyone else chasing a genuine 53% off bargain, this is one of the rare discounts that doesn't feel like a trap.